The present invention relates generally to ladders and scaffolding and more particularly to ladder and scaffolding used on sloped roof structures.
In the prior art there are ridge attachment devices, ladder platform designs, and ladder standoffs. While these prior inventions are useful, they do not solve certain problems that continue to plague workers who must perform work on sloping roof surfaces and skeletal roof framework. The inventions cited, while improving the task of moving a scaffold up a roof slope, still require manual manipulations to lock such a device in place, thus placing the worker in an oftentimes awkward and unsafe position. The smaller devices, because they rest directly on the roof, risk damage to roofing materials which may easily occur in cases of extreme hot or cold weather, while the devices that are designed to be supported above the roof are too massive to be practical for the small jobs requiring such a device. In addition, the prior art addresses only the problem of perpendicular attachment of various ladders and platforms in relation to the roof ridge when erecting a scaffold on a roof surface. Not all roof surfaces are planar, but instead are a variety of intersecting planes creating valleys, hips, etc. which the prior art devices cannot reach effectively.
Clearly there is a need in the industry for a light weight, inexpensive, portable roof scaffold that can be quickly installed above a roof plane to protect existing roof surfaces, provide a means to install roof surfaces when only the skeletal frame is finished, and is capable of reaching into valleys.
The desire to meet these needs of the construction industry has been the stimulus for the disclosed invention.